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Editorial

Drone policy is needed

Civilian use of drones holds great promise, but raises privacy fears

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As the age of everyday drones draws nearer, Americans have some questions on which to come to
consensus as a society: Who should be permitted to use them? For what purposes? How will we protect
privacy and manage the information they collect?

The issue has special importance in Ohio, because Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton
has been a pioneer in developing the technology for “unmanned aerial systems,” and state leaders
would like to use that as a springboard for developing more jobs. If Ohio’s Unmanned Aircraft
Systems Center and Test Complex is successful in its bid (along with the state of Indiana) to be
chosen by the Federal Aviation Administration as one of six sites for federally supported research
and testing, it could spawn an entirely new industry of high-paid jobs.

Meanwhile, technology is advancing, simple drones are becoming more affordable, and
law-enforcement agencies, scientists and businesses are eager to put them to work.

Use likely won’t be widespread before 2015. That’s the deadline Congress has given the FAA to
develop policies and procedures for their operation.

For now, government entities can seek individual approval from the agency to fly them.

As of Feb. 12, 327 such permits were in effect, including one in Ohio held by the Medina County
Sheriff’s Office for its two drones, which were donated to the office by a vendor hoping to drum up
interest; they haven’t been flown yet, as the FAA still is ironing out rules, such as how low they
can fly and whether they can operate at night.

Drones unquestionably could be useful. Medina County Sheriff Tom Miller has said his drones will
be used only for search-and-rescue missions — to track down a suspect on the loose or find a lost
child, say — and never to perform surveillance.

They also can efficiently survey vast areas, for instance, allowing a farmer to scan the
condition of his fields.

But it’s the spying capacity of drones that makes many Americans nervous at the thought of their
increasing use.

Most Americans think of them only as the stealthy killing machines that have been used by the
U.S. government to find and blow up known terrorists on the other side of the world. The fact that
many innocent bystanders and children also have been killed or injured in such attacks adds to
public distrust.

Some supporters of wider drone use point out that it already is legal to fly a helicopter over a
neighborhood to see what’s going on; what’s the difference?

But drones are far nimbler than conventional aircraft; they can fly low and make video and sound
recordings. Even if a police department dispatches one only to look for a lost child, it will at
the same time make a record of people’s comings and goings, which then must be disposed of.

And, perhaps most significantly, drones are relatively cheap. Private actors, not facing the
disclosure requirements of government or regulated businesses, will be able to use them.

Drones have the potential to be incredibly efficient tools, as well as the basis of a lucrative
Ohio industry.

Getting the rules right up front will be essential to accommodating their use while preserving
privacy and liberty.